THE RIGHTS AND SITUTATION OF OLDER PERSONS IN SLOVENIA

Briefing for UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

Prepared by: Anita Ramšak, PhD, Ekvilib Institute (anita@ekvilib.org)

November 2014

1. Introduction

Slovenia is an aging society, with the number of older persons steadily increasing. In the beginning of

2014, 17.5% of the population was 65 years of age or older, while in the 2055 their share is expected

to increase to more than 30%. This demands structural adjustments and adequate responses from

relevant authorities and institutions to safeguard dignified life and rights of an increasing segment of

the population.

This briefing focuses on the situation and rights of the older population in Slovenia. It first outlines the

demographic trends Slovenia is facing and then looks at the institutional and policy framework in

place to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of the elderly. It further highlights the key challenges

older population in Slovenia is facing, which have significant impact on the rights of this group of

people. It finishes with a set of recommendations.

Although focusing on the specific situation and the rights of the older persons in Slovenia, this

briefing first and foremost tries to bring in other issues of concern related to general promotion,

protection and fulfilment of human rights in Slovenia, which has also significant impact on the rights

of older persons. It also does not pretend to encompass the field of the rights of older persons in

Slovenia in a comprehensive manner, but only aims to highlight some of the most pressing issues in

this field.

2. Slovenian Demographics – increasingly ageing society

The share of the older age population in Slovenia is constantly increasing: at the beginning of 2013

17.1% of all 2,059,000 inhabitants were older than 64 years, with women being on average older than

men (20.2% of women were above 64 years old, compared to 13.9% of man)1. At the beginning of

2014, the share of older population already increased to 17.5% (14.3% of male and 20.6% of women)2.

Since 2003 the share of older people in Slovenia (65 years of age and more) is greater than the share of

young people (children below 15 years of age). The ageing index, which shows the ratio between the

numbers of persons aged 65+ and the number of persons younger than 15 years, was 119.6, which

means that for every 100 people under the age of 15 there are almost 120 people aged 65+. The gender

differences are important to highlight. Among the female population the share of older people was,

compared with younger people, much higher (ageing index was 146.4), while in regards of the male

population the situation was reversed (94 men aged 65+ per 100 men younger than 15 years)3.

According to the Europop projections of European Union (EU), by 2045 29% of the population will be

older than 65; by the 2055 this percentage will increase to 30.1%4.

There is increasing number of elderly people entering the pension system. According to the Pension

and Disability Insurance Institute, in 2013 the monthly average of users of old-age, early, disability,

survivors’, widow/er’s or partial old-age pensions from compulsory insurance in Slovenia was

602,3115 and has been steadily growing in the last years. And whilst the old-age dependency ratio in

2010 stood at 24, this is expected to more than double (to 58) by 2060. Similarly, the ratio between

active population and pensioners has been deteriorating since 2008 (in 2012, this ratio stood at nearly

1.5 active persons to one pensioner)6.

3. Institutional and policy framework for the protection of the rights of the elderly

The comprehensive and effective protection and promotion of the rights of elderly persons is also

influenced by the general lack of priority given to human rights by responsible institutions and

Slovenian government. This field is malnourished in terms of financial and human resources, as well

as policy priorities. Briefly, there exist no independent human rights institution of the rank A, which

would be in the compliance with the Paris Principles. Furthermore, there exists no human rights

strategy or action plan, nor comprehensive monitoring system in the field of human rights. This means

that the state does not have comprehensive overview of the level of human rights enjoyment of the

population, particularly of the most vulnerable groups, including older persons, and hence often does

not have a clear picture on what effects of legislative, including recently introduced austerity measures

have on human rights standards in the country7.

1 Indicators of well-being in Slovenia - Health /Kazalniki blaginje v Sloveniji – Zdravje / 2 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 3 Ibdn. 4 EUROPOP2013 - Population projections at national level; SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni

dan starejših 2014. 5 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 6 SORS, International day of Elderly 2013 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2013/ 7 Coalition of NGOs, Parallel Report By the Coalition of NGOs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Slovenia.

Submitted to the Committee on ESC Rights.

3.1. Institutions responsible for monitoring the situation and the rights of elderly population

In the absence of the independent human rights institution, with a full mandate and capacities, the

responsibility for monitoring the situation and rights of different groups falls under different bodies

and different sections of the Ministries. For the older population responsibilities would primarily fall

under the Ministry for Work, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities as well as Ministry

of Health. The latter has been without an operative Minister for the last three years, contributing to

almost alarming state in the public health sector.

Therefore, there is no single governmental body or institution, which would be responsible for

comprehensively monitoring the situation of older persons and would be concerned with enjoyment of

their rights. Representatives of older population, as well as previous Ombudsman, were advocating for

creation of the Advocate for elderly or establishment for the Office for the Elderly that would be

responsible for preparation and coordination of guidelines and documents necessary for guaranteeing

dignity of older people as well as it would offer aid, consultations and advocacy services for elderly

population. One of the responsibilities under this Office would be establishment of the system of

Advocates for elderly population; similarly as existing system of Advocates for children and their

rights. This would provide elderly people in need a confident person, to which they can resort to when

in troubles or in doubts8.

Although creation of another body for the elderly population might be beneficial for improvement of

their situation; creation of yet another office with specific interest and its own bureaucratic apparatus

within already fragmented public sector (e.g. for monitoring the situation of different groups

responsibilities lies with the Office of Youth, Office of Religious Communities, different sections of

Ministries, which in practice have very little emphasises on human rights or anti-discrimination) might

not be the best solution. Particularly, as coordination within already existing offices seems to be

lacking and several coordination bodies are assessed as not functioning or preforming their work

(Council for the Disabled, Council for the Implementation of the Principle of Equal Treatment)9. The

lack of coordination among different governmental bodies and sections responsible for protection of

interests and rights of selected segments of the population often in practice leads to increased costs of

operation, duplications of work, lack of rights and antidiscrimination focus as well as increased

tensions among different sections.

In terms of the rights of elderly population as such, the following two human rights institutions are, in

a very limited way, concerned with the promotion and protection of their rights:

Human Rights Ombudsman receives complains from individuals on public matters and

issues opinions and annual reports on the exercise of human rights. However, it is competent

only for matters in the public sphere, while the rights of the older persons and/or rights linked

to discrimination are only one of the broad sectors that Office covers10

. In regard to older

persons, Office issues opinions on the fields most relevant for them, such as social security

rights, health insurance, disability insurance, etc. However, Office issues opinions and

8 Varuh človekovih pravic RS, Pravice starejših kot ogledalo družbe, st. 14, 2011 / Human Rights Ombudsman of RS, The

rights of older people as a mirror of society, p.14, 2011/ 9 Coalition of NGOs, Parallel Report By the Coalition of NGOs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Slovenia.

Submitted to the Committee on ESC Rights. 10 Office for Equal Opportunities. Analysis of institutional framework for promotion of equality and protection against

discrimination in the Republic of Slovenia (Office for Equal Opportunities, Ljubljana, 2011) 31-34

assessment of the situation of human rights, only on the basis of the initiatives it receives11

,

and is far from comprehensively monitoring and analysing or actively promoting the

fulfilment of the rights of the older persons in Slovenia.

Advocate for principle of equality is competent for examination of complaints on alleged

discrimination and unequal treatment in both public and private sphere on all grounds, offers

support to the victims and gives opinion and recommendations on the case. However,

organizational placement in the Ministry for Work, Family, Social Affairs and Equal

Opportunities, nonexistence of its own budget, lack of personnel (in practice there is only one

person) limits its efficiency and scope of work12

.

Due to financial and operative restriction, these two institutions cannot comprehensively monitor the

situation of human rights in Slovenia, including the situation of persons in most disadvantaged

position, older persons increasingly belonging to these. There is no other independent institution,

which would be capable and have a mandate to preform impact assessments of different legislative and

other measures and give guidelines and opinions on issues linked to specific groups, including older

persons. Concern, that Slovenia does not have independent human rights institution, has been

expressed by several international human rights bodies.

3.2. Policy framework for the protection of the rights of elderly and improvement of their

situation

Slovenian Constitution13

guarantees everyone equal human rights and fundamental freedoms

irrespective of national origin, race, gender, language, religion, political or other beliefs, financial

status, birth, education, social status, disability or any other personal circumstance, thus including

age and sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits any incitement to discrimination,

hatred or intolerance and harassment.

Furthermore, The Principle of Equal Treatment Act14

is the main piece of legislation prohibiting

discrimination on the basis of sex, nationality, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age,

sexual orientation. It also includes ‘other’, non-specified grounds. It prohibits direct discrimination,

indirect discrimination, rejection of reasonable accommodation and harassment as well as instructions

to discriminate. The protection of rights and prohibition of discrimination is also guaranteed in other

acts, such as Penal Code15

and the Employment Relationship Act16

.

However, it needs to be noted that Slovenia does not have general human rights or even more

specific anti-discrimination policy or action plan, which would be comprehensively aimed at

improvement of human rights situation in Slovenia and on the position of most vulnerable groups in

11 Varuh človekovih pravic RS, Pravice starejših kot ogledalo družbe, st. 14, 2011 /Human Rights Ombudsman of RS, The

rights of older people as a mirror of society, p.14, 2011/ 12 Office for Equal Opportunities. Analysis of institutional framework for promotion of equality and protection against

discrimination in the Republic of Slovenia (Office for Equal Opportunities, Ljubljana, 2011) 13Ustava Republike Slovenije, Ur. List RS. št. 33/91-I, 42/97, 66/00, 24/03, 69/04, 68/06 in 47/13 (Constitution of the

Republic of Slovenia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 33/1991, 42/97, 66/00, 24/03, 69/04, 68/06 in 47/13). 14Zakon o uresničevanju načel enakega obravnavanja (ZUNEO), Ur. List RS št. 93/07 (Law on Principle of Equal Treatment,

Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 93/07). 15 Kazenski zakonik /KZ-1-UPB2/, Ur. List RS. Št. 50/12 (Penal Code, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No.

50/12). 16 Zakon o delovnih razmerjih (ZDR-1), Ur. List RS, št. 21/2013, 78/2013-popr (Law on Employment Relationships).,

Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. št. 21/2013, 78/2013-popr.)

society, e.g. for certain social groups’ specific national or action programs have been adopted, but the

language of rights and particularly mainstreaming of anti-discrimination principles are often (outside

of gender equality) lacking.

In the absence of general human rights policy, currently, there is no operational strategy or national

programme, which would focus specifically on active ageing or exclusively on the social inclusion

of older people. The draft of the new document in this field Strategy for quality ageing, solidarity and

intergenerational relations in Slovenia for the period 2011 to 2020, is still waiting to be considered by

the government17

and it is, according to available information, not expected to come into force before

2016. The last valid document in this field was Strategy on care for the older people until 2010 -

solidarity, harmony and quality aging, which included all government departments related to

demographic change. There has been a supplementary document to the strategy of active ageing

adopted in 2010. As part of the Strategy, a Council on solidarity and quality ageing of population in

Slovenia, encompassing different stakeholders, was established18

. According to available information,

the Council is currently not operational19

.

There are several pieces of legislation and policy papers, which are partly concerned with different

aspects linked to the situation of elderly population. Among them:

Social Security Act20

among others regulates the provision of social security benefits for the

older people, including social care and support at home in case of old age, disability, etc.

Important changes of this legislation took place in early 2013, which made the eligibility

criteria for receiving supplementary allowances more stringent and placed some groups of

elderly, such as women receiving widow pensions and unemployed people between the 50 and

65 years of age, into more difficult social position21

. An amendment to the national social

legislation took place in December 2013, with the aims of easing the income and property

conditions for entitlement to social benefits, and of extending eligibility for income support

for older people. Furthermore, Resolution on the National Social Assistance Programme

for 2013-202022

, aims to reduce the risk of poverty and to increase the social inclusion of

socially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of the population, including elderly, including

by promoting the development of various social and prevention programmes as well as

increasing their number and quality.

In 2013 changes of the Law on Labour Relations Act and amendments to the Law on the

organisation of the labour market were introduced, aiming at reducing labour market

17 Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Assessment of the impact of the new social legislation, Final

Report. / Inštitut RS za Socialno Varstvo, Ocena učinkov izvajanja nove socialne zakonodaje, Končno poročilo. 18 Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Intergenerational Solidarity in the Community - Analysis and

Preparation of Proposals / Inštitut RS za socialno varstvo. Medgeneracijska solidarnost v skupnosti - analiza stanja in

priprava predlogov. 19 In 2014 the European Commission funded project AHA.SI - Active and Healthy Aging in Slovenia, led by the National

Health Institute was initiated. The goal of the project is to contribute to the development of a comprehensive strategy of

active ageing (with a particular focus on the employability of older people, active and healthy ageing, support for

independent living and long-term care). For more see: Federation of Retired Persons of Slovenia. AHA.SI /Zveza društev

upokojencev v Sloveniji. AHA.SI/ 20 Zakon o socialnem varstvu, Ur. list RS, št. 3/2007 - uradno prečiščeno besedilo 2, 23/2007 - popr., 41/2007 - popr.,

114/2006 - ZUTPG, 57/12 (Law on Social Security, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. št. 3/2007 - official

consolidated text 2, 23/2007 - correction., 41/2007 - correction., 114/2006 - ZUTPG, 57/12) 21 Particularly women who prior to this change used to receive widow pension (mainly women who were housekeepers)21.

Also people aged between 50 and 65 years old, who lost their jobs but had not retired yet, who were after the end of the

period during which they are entitled to unemployment allowances, receive often only basic social support; which does not

allow older people to maintain adequate living standards. For more see: Social Protection Institute of the Republic of

Slovenia, Assessment of the impact of the new social legislation, Final Report. / Inštitut RS za Socialno Varstvo, Ocena

učinkov izvajanja nove socialne zakonodaje, Končno poročilo./ 22 Resolucija o nacionalnem programu socialnega varstva za obdobje 2013–2020 /Resolution on the National Social

Assistance Programme for 2013-2020/, Official Gazette of Republic of Slovenia, No. 39/2013.

segmentation and increasing greater flexibility23

. With the aim to address market labour

segmentations, some of the measures also reduced the protection of older workers. Among

others, the key provisions related to elderly are: introduction of the possibility of temporary

and part-time work for pensioners; setting a higher age for defining an older worker entitled to

special protection against dismissal (58 years) (e.g. employees who are over 58 years old or

are five years before the retirement cannot be dismissed without their consent24

- previously

the age bar was 55 for men and 51 for women). Older people (50-55 year-olds) with more than

25 years of employment period have the right to receive unemployment benefits for a longer

period of time than other unemployed persons; Workers over 55 (man) and 51 (women) years

of age may conclude employment contracts for shorter working hours, if they partially retire.

In 2013 a pension reform25

was introduced. This set a higher retirement age, levelled

retirement conditions for men and women and changed parameters for the calculation of

pensions, and introduced additional incentives for encouraging the employment of older

persons and motivating older workers to stay active even after retirement age. The changes in

Pension and Disability Insurance Act to some extent reduced the level of the early

retirement pension26

.

Another two important acts which are concerned also with the situation of older people are

Health Care and Health Insurance Act and Mentally and Physically Handicapped persons Act.

However, it needs to be pointed out, that there is no comprehensive piece of legislation and

policy governing Long-term care, which also results in the fact that there exists no

comprehensive long-term care system. The latter is scattered along the range of services and

benefits within the health care system, pension and disability insurance and welfare systems,

and special care systems for people with disabilities27

. As a consequence, this field is governed

by several Acts, including Pension and Disability Insurance Act, Social Security Act, Social

Security Benefits Act, Rights Enforcement from Public Funds Act, Parental Care and Family

Benefits Act, Mentally and Physically Handicapped persons Act, Health Care and Health

Insurance Act, War Disabled Act.

Adult Education Act28

governs Life-long learning or adult education area. The field is further

regulated by the Resolution on the National Programme of Adult Education, which

presents a basis for determining annual adult education programmes, provides for the systemic

regulation of adult learning and guides the education policy at the state and local levels

(focusing on education beyond the obligatory primary education). Among the target groups it

mentions unemployed people over the age of 50 without vocational or professional education

and employed people over the age of 45 with less than four years of high school or lack of key

or vocational competences. However, there are no specific disaggregated targets for any of the

above mentioned groups. Moreover, with the current funding provided, the proposed

programme will not be fully realised, and there will be a need to partly fund identified

programmes from other sources (municipalities, employers, international project).

23 European Semester 2020. Commission Staff Working paper. Assessment of NAR Slovenia, 2014. 24 Zakon o delovnih razmerjih (ZDR-1), Ur. List. RS, št. 21/2013, 78/2013-popr (Law on Employment Relationships, Official

Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. št. 21/2013, 78/2013-popr.) 25 Zakon o pokojninskem in invalidskem zavarovanju (Uradni list RS, št. 96/12, 39/13, 99/13 - ZSVarPre-C in 101/13 -

ZIPRS1415). (Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 96/12, 39/13, 99/13

- ZSVarPre-C in 101/13 - ZIPRS1415) 26 IMAD, Slovenia Development Report 2013, 2013 / UMAR, Poročilo o razvoju Slovenije 2013, 2013/ 27 European Semester 2020. Commission Staff Working paper. Assessment of NAR Slovenia, 2014. 28 The Adult Education Act, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 110/2006.

3.3. Resources allocated to the protection of the rights of elderly population

Slovenian demographic projections, combined with one of the lowest activity rates of older people

within the EU, are expected to place significant challenge on the state/its public finance (particularly

pension and health care)29

. Furthermore, the economic and financial crisis, Slovenia has been caught in

since 2009, left several sectors relevant for enjoyment of the rights of the older persons under

malnourished (long-term care, health system, social protection), while also, through decrease of

pensions, which hardly allow for decent living, placing share of crisis burden to the pensioners and

elderly.

The public expenditure in the fields most important for the protection of the dignity of the rights of

older population, including social security and health system, have been, despite increasing need,

reducing in recent years and remain slightly under the average of the European Union. In 2011,

Slovenia allocated 25% of the GDP on social protection, while EU average was 29%30

. For example,

measured by purchasing power per capita, expenditure on social protection in 2010 remained at 72%

of the EU average31

. In 2012 percentage for social protection decreased for 1% (24.9%). According to

the types of allocations 10.1% was allocated for “age”, 8% for “sickness and health insurance” and

2.1% for “family and children”32

. Worryingly, health expenditures in absolute numbers are declining.

In 2011, it amounted to 8.8 % of GDP, compared to 9% in 2012. However, due to decrease in

revenues from the compulsory health insurance, actual contributions had lowered by 6.3 % in the

period 2010–2012. At the same time, the ratio between public and private health expenditure changed.

The share of public expenditure amounted to 71.8% in 2012 (72.3% in 2012).33

In 2013 Slovenia paid

for all pensions about a tenth of GDP, which is about 3 percentage points more than the EU average34

.

Furthermore, the question of allocation of maximum available resources for protection of human

rights, including economic, social and cultural rights of all most vulnerable groups, including older

population, can be also questioned. NGO community and journalists have identified several anecdotal

evidences showing that existing resources are not optimally used and allocated, among others there is

an evidence of constantly overpaying public tenders; duplication and lack of coordination of different

sectors; installing of people on key positions based on their political affiliation, and not on the basis of

their actual competences; creation of “fake” employment, etc. are just some of this examples.

Furthermore, there remain several opportunities for increasing available resources, which are

currently not optimally explored. This includes absorbing external financial sources, such as

European funds - for example out of EUR 4.2 billion of the EU Cohesion funds available in the 2007–

2013 financial perspective, less than two-thirds have been utilized until mid of 201435

. Furthermore,

according to some estimates, Slovenia is losing up to a EUR 1.5 billion as a result of tax evasion and

inefficient tax collection. Although measures in this field took place, government needs to step up in

addressing tax evasion and supporting efforts for systemic regulation of these issues at national,

29 IMAD, Slovenia Development Report 2014, 2014 / UMAR, Poročilo o razvoju Slovenije 2014, 2014/ 30 The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia (Urad za makroekonomske

analize in razvoj, UMAR). Poročilo o razvoju 2013. 31 The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia (Urad za makroekonomske

analize in razvoj, UMAR). Poročilo o razvoju 2013. 32 SORS. Expenditure and funding resources of social protection schemes and pension beneficiaries, Slovenia, 2012 -

provisional data. / SURS. Izdatki in viri financiranja programov socialne zaščite ter upravičenci do pokojnin, Slovenija, 2012

- začasni podatki. 33 IMAD, Development Report 2014. / UMAR. Poročilo o razvoju 2013. 34 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 /SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 35 Evropski Socialni Skladi. Podatki o črpanju sredstev. / The European Social Fund. Information about the disbursement of

funds / Available at www.eu-skladi.si.

European and global level. Furthermore, the high level of corruption is not adequately addressed

either. According to the Corruption perception index in the public sector Slovenia ranks 43rd

among

177 countries with the score of 51 (with a score of 100 indicating that there is no corruption in the

country)36

. Resignation of the entire senate of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption in

2013 also presents important signal that addressing corruption remains systemic problem. As one of

the reasons for their resignation, the Commission stressed that current legislation does not allow them

to perform their tasks effectively.

Demographic projects and increasingly worsening situation of older persons demands timely,

comprehensive and relevant response from the government; however, as partly described above,

existing responses seem to be partial of non-existent. The democratic projections indeed are creating

challenge for the stability of the public finances, if current system remains unchanged and strategic

reforms are not taken. However, prevailing crisis rhetoric and rhetoric that portraits older persons, and

particularly pensioners mainly as a burden for sustainability of fiscal policy and burden for younger

generations, does not help to restore much needed intergenerational co-existence and to promote

solidarity among different generations.

36 Društvo Integriteta. Indeks zaznave korupcije. / Transparency International Slovenia. Corruption Perceptions Index.

Available at www.integriteta.si/component/content/article/11-partner-transparency-international/314-indeks-zaznave-

korupcije-2013.

4. Key challenges affecting the rights of older persons in Slovenia

In the following sections, some of the key challenges affecting the enjoyment of the rights of older

persons in Slovenia are highlighted. However, the list and issues mentioned are not exclusive and

comprehensive.

4.1. Discrimination of older persons

Although anti-discrimination legislation does offer relatively extensive and rigorous system of civil,

administrative and penal sanctions, institutions, such as Advocate for principles of Equality, and

reports of NGOs warn, that existing system is complex, ineffective and leads to minimal convictions

for perpetuators on the grounds of discrimination37

. The above mentioned fact, that there is no single

body that would independently monitor the field of human rights and discrimination, contributes to the

fact that there exists no research that would deal directly or comprehensively with discrimination on

the different grounds, ground of age being one of them. However, although there is no systematic data

available for this field it does not mean that discrimination does not exist.

For example, existing surveys show the perceived rate of discrimination against older people in

Slovenia is close to the European average (41% compared to 45% of EU average38

. Furthermore,

European Social Survey further found that according to over 40% of the respondents, ageism is a

severe issue in Slovenia39

. 66% respondents in the EU-wide survey Eurobarometer also pointed out

being older would present a disadvantage when company is choosing between two candidates with

equal skills and qualifications, which is much higher than in any other grounds40

.

Furthermore, from the available statistical data, we can see that elderly people are more vulnerable and

have experienced unequal situation in access to labour market, showing the indices of structural

discrimination. For example, since the beginning of the crisis in 2008 there has been a decline in

economic activity in most age groups, with younger (15 to 29 years old) and older (50 years and

above) age groups being in more difficult situation; for example 4 out of 10 long-term unemployed

belong to the age group 50+. One of the reasons is also the challenge to change attitudes of employers,

who follow strongly entrench existing paradigm of old age and elderly, which does not recognize or

ignores their sources of power, skills and capabilities41

.

Due to their age and disadvantaged economic situation, older people also face discrimination in

accessing financial services, which consequently negatively affects their ability to adequately resolve

their housing situation or other issues; for example, lack of access to credit and other financial

services, can prevent older people, who are often living in apartments that are not suitable to their

situation, to cover the costs of their adjustments42

or to move into more adjusted apartments. The lack

of access to the ICT among elderly is an increasing issue of concern and can constitute indirect

discrimination, particularly in regard to the right to information and participation.

37 Coalition of NGOs, Parallel Report By the Coalition of NGOs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Slovenia.

Submitted to the Committee on ESC Rights. 38 Eurobarometer factsheet Slovenia. 39 Grey Matters – A Survey of Ageism across Europe. 40 Eurobarometer,Discrimination in the EU in 2012- Report. 41 Zbornik Festivala za Tretje življenjsko obdobje. Za strpno in socialno sožitje vseh, 2010. / Proceedings of the Festival for

the Third Age. For tolerant and social coexistence of all, 2010. 42 Tratnik, M. (ed), Discrimination of elderly, Preceedings and Discusions / Tratnik, M. (ur.), Diskriminacija starejših,

Zbornik Referatov in razprav/

4.2. Adequate standard of living and social services

Older persons, particularly older women, are at the higher risk of poverty than general population.

In 2013 14.5% of people were living at risk of poverty, which presents an increase compared to 2009

level, when the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 11.3%, among them 22% of people were above 64 years of

age or older43

. The risk of poverty is higher for women above 64 years of age (25.5%), than for men of

the same age group (13.2%) (compared to 25% and 11.7% year before). Greater risk of poverty has

been detected particularly for single-person households where older people (age 65 and over) were

living: in 2012 33.3% where older women and 44% where older men were living in single

households44

.

With increasing number of people entering the pension system, higher risk of poverty can be also

attributed to the low pensions. As pointed out by Slovenian Statistical Office and Pension and

Disability Insurance Institute, in the period from January to December 2013 the average monthly

pension without withdrawn advance payment amounted to just over EUR 560, and it has lowered

compared to January–December 2012 by 0.1%. In January-December 2013 period consumer prices

increased by 1.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. The real value of pensions

decreased for the fourth consecutive year: in 2012 by 3.5%, in 2011 by 1.4% and in 2010 by 0.7%45

.

Pensioners with the lowest pensions receive compensatory supplement, which is excluded from

pension and disability insurance, and transferred to social security benefits. With the austerity

measures, the provision of obligatory repayment after the death of the beneficiary is more strictly

applied – meaning that a person receiving social security benefits, needs to return part of his/her

wealth to the state after the death. In the last years, there has been rapid reduction of the number of

recipients of compensatory supplement particularly among older population, with many beneficiaries

losing the right to the supplement due to stricter conditions for entitlement, and even more

beneficiaries waiving the right voluntarily to protect them and their heirs from repaying the amounts

received, thus deepening their social distress46

.

Equally, for the older persons outside of pension system and employment, e.g. living on the social

security benefits, the level of social support available also does not allow for decent leaving and does

not ensure social security. Social security benefits are determined and granted on the basis of

minimum income, which is 265.55 EUR since August 1st 2013, meaning that the minimum income is

significantly below the poverty line. It is worrying that according to calculation of the Ministry of

Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the minimum cost of living for one adult

person (the conversion of the cost of the “basket of basic goods and services« to total costs) amounted

to EUR 562,0747

43 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 44 SORS, International Day of Elderly / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2013/ 45 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 46 Coalition of NGOs, Parallel Report By the Coalition of NGOs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Slovenia.

Submitted to the Committee on ESC Rights. 47 Coalition of NGOs, Parallel Report By the Coalition of NGOs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Slovenia.

Submitted to the Committee on ESC Rights.

4.3. Health

The share of people aged over 65 years whose every-day activities in the last six months have been

moderately or greatly obstructed due to health problems, is in Slovenia higher than in the EU (2012:

61.6%, compared to 55% EU average). This percentage is increasing. Furthermore, expected healthy

life years (years without disability) at birth by sex has sharply fallen after 2009 and is significantly

below the average of EU-27. In 2012, there were 55.6 healthy life years for women and 56.5 years for

men. In Slovenia, both men and women can expect around eight healthy or unrestricted life years less

than the EU average48

.

This also presents additional burden to the health care system, which is, after several unsuccessful

attempts to reform health insurance system, facing significant challenges in the last years; doctors

often warn that the system is before the complete collapse. Currently, partial solutions have been

found for reduction of the public expenditure in this field by transferring part of the health care

payments to the complementary health insurance, reducing health workers’ wages and lowering sick

pay. Thus, very few medical services are financed entirely from public funds (the share of public

financing ranges from 5 to 95%), the majority must be covered by additional payments from the

complementary health insurance49

. Furthermore, despite the increasing needs, the percentage of

employees in health care remains low, e.g. according to estimates, Slovenian hospitals would need one

fifth more employees in order to adequately carry out their functions.

Another key challenge facing older population is that there exists no comprehensive long-term care

system; existing one is scattered along the range of services and benefits within the health care

system, pension and disability insurance and welfare systems, and special care systems for people with

disabilities50

. This field has been stagnating for several years, despite the increased need,51

including

public funding for this field is below the OECD average (Slovenia: 0.98 % GDP; OECD: 1.39 % GDP

– data for 2011); which could be partly attributed to the austerity measures to consolidate public

finances, which limited the funding possibilities available for long-term care52

.

Long term care provision remains largely a family responsibility, the quality of which could be

hindered by the economic status of the families53

. In this regard, the reduction of real incomes (salaries

and pensions) of service users also lowers the access of the users of the available services54

.

Furthermore, although institutional care has increased and became more available in recent years, the

Office of the Ombudsman and some other researches, find challenge in relatively unbalanced

geographical coverage of availability of these institutions55

.

48 Indicators of Well-being in Slovenia - Health /Kazalniki blaginje v Sloveniji – zdravje/ 49 Doctors' Initiative. Health insurance system in Slovenia. /Iniciativa zdravnikov. Sistem zdravstvenega zavarovanja v

Sloveniji. / Available at: http://iniciativa-zdravnikov.si. 50 European Semester 2020. Commission Staff Working paper. Assessment of NAR Slovenia, 2014. 51 European Semester 2020. Commission Staff Working paper. Assessment of NAR Slovenia, 2014. 52 IMAD, Slovenia Development Report 2014, 2014 / UMAR, Poročilo o razvoju Slovenije 2014, 2014/ 53 Varuh človekovih pravic RS, Pravice starejših kot ogledalo družbe, st. 14, 2011 /Human Rights Ombudsman of RS, The

rights of older people as a mirror of society, p.14, 2011/ 54 IMAD, Slovenia Development Report 2014, 2014 / UMAR, Poročilo o razvoju Slovenije 2014, 2014 55 Varuh človekovih pravic RS, Pravice starejših kot ogledalo družbe, st. 14, 2011 /Human Rights Ombudsman of RS, The

rights of older people as a mirror of society, p.14, 2011/

4.4. Housing

Elderly also often live in apartments that are not adjusted to their situation and problems, and cannot

afford to cover the costs of their adjustments. In Slovenia, on one hand, there is a high level of owned

accommodations, low accommodation mobility and mentality that the elderly need to leave their estate

to future generations; whereas on the other hand selling the apartment presents great stress, there is no

independent financial consultancy adjusted for elderly, elderly have limited access to the credits,

which also makes it more difficult for them to adjust their living conditions to the needs of their age56

.

Due to their age and disadvantaged economic situation, older people face discrimination in accessing

financial services which consequently negatively affects their ability to adequately resolve their

housing situation57

.

4.5. Access to information and participation

Beside general attitude towards older persons as incompetent, their participation can be severely

obstructed also due to the lack of support/consultation services available or adjusted to their needs,

which would help them with decision-making, enabling them to more actively participate in societies

and organize themselves in a way to live a more dignified life (e.g. including financial consultations,

housing possibilities, etc.)58

. Similarly, a survey showed that social support networks for older people

are strongly focused on older people living in families, whereas older people living outside of family

relations have limited financial support (39% does not have anyone to lend him/her money above

1,000 EUR), lack information support (21% respondents have no one to whom they can turn to for

information, while additional 21% have only one person to talk to), and a number of older people face

particular challenges in terms of social interactions (4% of respondents are without anyone to socialise

with and 9% have only one person to interact with)59

.

In this regard, there is also an acknowledgement of regional disparities in the coverage and availability

of active ageing or intergenerational centres; equally the opportunities and conditions in the field of

intergenerational solidarity differ from municipality to municipality, and often depend on how actively

individuals in societies or local communities are working on these issues60

.

Furthermore, access to the ICT technologies remains an important challenge impacting the elderly

people’s right to information and participation. According to research published by Statistical Office

of RS on the use of ICT, in 2013 15% of people aged 65+ were using computer and internet every or

every second day, which presents three-times increase of use of the computer and increase for seven-

times in the use of internet in the last 5 years61

. Furthermore, according to the survey done in 2011, 4%

of people aged between 55-64 years of age and 3% of the 65-74-year-old age group are participating in

online social networks62

. However, despite the increase in recent years, existing research points out

56 Zbornik Festivala za Tretje življenjsko obdobje. Za strpno in socialno sožitje vseh, 2010. / Proceedings of the Festival for

the Third Age. For tolerant and social coexistence of all, 2010. / 57 Tratnik, M. (ed), Discrimination of elderly, Preceedings and Discusions /Tratnik, M. (ur.), Diskriminacija starejših,

Zbornik Referatov in razprav/ 58 Ibdn. 59 Proceedings of the Festival of Third Life stage Life. For tolerance and social harmony among all. / Zbornik Festivala za

Tretje življenjsko obdobje. Za strpno in socialno sožitje vseh / 60 Ibdn. 61 SORS, Use of computers and the internet among the elderly, detailed data, Slovenia, 2013 / SURS, Uporaba računalnikov

in interneta pri starejših, podrobni podatki, Slovenija, 2013. 62 Innovage. Analysis of the situation and SWOT analysis in the field of use of ICT among elderly in Slovenia, 2010 /

Innovage. Analiza stanja in SWOT analiza na področju uporabe ICT med starostniki v Sloveniji, 2010/

that the use of ICT amongst older people (beyond the mobile phone) is still lower than the EU

average.

The increasing digital gap also leads to the exclusion of older people from accessing relevant

information and access to services (i.e. as a result of increasing number of e-services such as

complaints to tax administration authorities, applications to medical examinations63

, increasing use of

on-line business64

, etc.). This can imply indirect discrimination, which can exacerbate the social

exclusion of this age group.

4.6. Labour market participation

Slovenia has (along with Malta) the lowest share of active population within the age group 55 and 64

years in the EU, which was 31.2% in 2011 (in the EU as a whole this stood at 47.4%). The low

activity rate is related particularly to the early retirement of older population compared to other

countries, but also due to difficulties in accessing the labour market of this age group. This also means

that the ratio between the active population and the non-active population (of which pensioners form a

critical group) has been worsening since 2008 (in 2012 this rate stood at 1.46, meaning one and half

active person to one pensioner)65

. In June 2014, among persons age 65 or more, there were around

2.050 or 0.3% active in the labour market66

.

Older people, who lose their jobs, also face difficulties in returning to the employment market67

which is also reflected in the data showing that 4 out of 10 long-term unemployed people are above 50

years of age68

. This is also the age group that does not have the possibility to access temporary or

occasional work, which is an option that was made available to retired persons by amendments made

to the labour legislation in March 201369

.

Changing the attitudes of employers with regards to stereotypes of older people, such as that they

are less productive, more at risk of ill health, more reluctant to professional development, and have a

lower level of competence, remains a challenge. Getting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

to take on older workers is recognised as a challenge in particular, as many SMEs lack age

management skills and fail to realise older workers’ potential70

. This attitude is also related to strongly

entrench existing paradigms of old age and the elderly, which do not recognise the economic potential,

skills and capabilities of older people71

. Age thus seems to be an obstacle for professional

improvement; as the work experiences of older people do not seem to be recognised and

prequalification and training are lacking or are difficult to access72

.

Life-long learning programmes are a way to increase the participation of elderly in society and

63 Ibdn. 64 Varuh človekovih pravic RS, Pravice starejših kot ogledalo družbe, st. 14, 2011 /Human Rights Ombudsman of RS, The

rights of older people as a mirror of society, p.14, 2011 65 SORS, International day of Elderly 2013 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2013/ 66 SORS, International day of Elderly 2014 / SURS, Mednarodni dan starejših 2014/ 67 IMAD, Slovenia Development Report 2014, 2014 / UMAR, Poročilo o razvoju Slovenije 2014, 2014/ 68 Employment Service. Scientific basis for 2014, 2014 / Zavod Republike Slovenije za zaposlovanje, Strokovna izhodišča za

leto 2014, 2014. 69 Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Assessment of the impact of the new social legislation, Final

Report. / Inštitut RS za Socialno Varstvo, Ocena učinkov izvajanja nove socialne zakonodaje, Končno poročilo./ 70 Zaida, A. (2012), Age friendly goods and services, DG EMP, 2013. 71 Proceedings of the Festival of Third Life stage Life. For tolerance and social harmony among all, 2010/ Zbornik Festivala

za Tretje življenjsko obdobje. Za strpno in socialno sožitje vseh, 2010/ 72 Tratnik, M. (ed.), Discrimination of elderly, Preceedings and Discusion, 2011./Tratnik, M. (ur.), Diskriminacija starejših,

Zbornik Referatov in razprav, 2011

labour market. However, participation of adults in life-long learning programmes in 2013

decreased for a third time in a row (at 2010, it stood at 16.2%, whilst in 2013 the corresponding figure

was at 12.6%). However, this still remains slightly higher than the EU average73

. Importantly, the

participation of older workers in adult programmes is modest and is steadily decreasing each year74

. It

seems that the older a person is and a lower educational level he/she has the less likely he/she will

participate in life-long learning programmes. Lower participation rates in life-long learning

programmes also inhibit older people’s employment prospects75

.

According to the Adult Education Survey of OECD, the affordability of programmes is a question of

concern, with 45.9% respondents stating that the high cost of adult education was a barrier for

participation in the programmes (41.3% problems related to health and 34.2% problems related to age;

52.4% cited as a barrier conflict with work; 35.6% family responsibilities)76

. Besides the OECD, other

experts have also emphasised difficulties in accessing the education for older people due to self-

payment and limited access to continuous educational programmes, including due to regional

disparities77

.

Other factors include the employers’ reluctance to invest in older workers’ education (which can at

least partly be attributed to discriminatory attitudes of employers in a sense that some may regard such

an investment in older workers as wasted), as well as the relative lack of educational programmes for

seniors.

73 Indicators of well-being in Slovenia - Education /Kazalniki blaginje Slovenije – izobraževanje/ 74 Indicators of well-being in Slovenia - Education /Kazalniki blaginje Slovenije – izobraževanje/ 75 OECD, Improving educational Outcomes in Slovenia, 2011 76 OECD, Improving educational Outcomes in Slovenia, 2011 77 Žiberna, A., Recognizing discrimination of elderly, in Tratnik, M. (ed), Discrimination of elderly, Preceedings and

Discusions / Žiberna, A., Prepoznavanje oblik diskriminacije Starejsih, in Tratnik, M. (ed), Diskriminacija starejših,

Zbornik Referatov in razprav.